A Linguistic Analysis of Postmodern Comedy by Barbara Ann Karman

Postmodern Power Plays: A linguistic Analysis of Postmodern Comedy by Barbara Ann Karman Submitted in partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master ofArts in the English Program Youngstown State University August, 1998 Postmodern Power Plays: A Linguistic Analysis of Postmodern Comedy Barbara Ann Karman I hereby release this thesis to the public. I understand this thesis will be housed at the Circulation Desk of the University library and will be available for public access. I also authorize the University or other individuals to make copies of this thesis as needed for scholarly research. Signature: ~ Ii q;;. ~~QL<~ Student Date Approvals: Thesis Advisor Date LC~L L}~lGl ~~b~ L~{S-.-..;;;;~ 0 --c' __(s+-II CommitteiMember 0 Date iii Abstract Postmodern Power Plays: A Linguistic Analysis of Postmodern Comedy The goal of this thesis is to first acquaint readers with the literature on humor that will be useful in analyzing postmodern comedy from a linguistic perspective. As a genre-specific theoretical tool for viewers-- and readers-- of television texts, this thesis provides a means to an end: a way to "fine tune" our perception and understanding ofpostmodern comedy, and more importantly, provide concrete means to analyze the structure and implicit messages of one of its primary modes of expression--the prime time television situation comedy. Two case studies will consider the linguistic and textual construction of The Simpsons and Home Improvement and show how each sitcom relies on a postmodern power play between competing interests to engage the audience, subvert, and yet also subtly reinforce some ofour traditional notions ofgender and family relations in a patriarchal society. iv Table of Contents Preface v-vi 1. Survey of the Literature 1 2. A Linguistic Analysis of Postmodern Comedy 26 3. Postmodern Power Plays: An Analysis of the Mixed Signals on Home Improvement 46 4. Dangling Oppositions: Targeting The Simpsons 69 Conclusions 92 Bibliography 95 v Preface: The goal of this thesis is to acquaint readers with some of the literature on humor that will be useful in analyZing postmodern comedy through a linguistic Perspective. This thesis, then, is intended to serve as a genre-specific theoretical tool for viewers- and readers-- of television texts. It is a means to an end: a way to "fine tune" our Perception and understanding of POstmodern comedy, and more importantly, provide concrete means to analyze the structure and implicit messages of one of its primary modes of expression--the prime time television situation comedy. FollOWing the survey of literature and a brief discussion of postmodern comedy, two situation comedies, Home Improvement and The Simpsons will be analyzed. The first case study will consider whether Home Improvement is simply another middle-of-the-road television comedy designed to attract mass viewer appeal, and also analyze the ABC sitcom using Bahtkin's theory of "POlyphonics," postmodern and feminist theory to shed light on the show's conflicting messages competing for the viewer's attention in every episode. Within the bounds of a typical sitcom narrative structure, Home Improvement continually experiments with form and content and routinely combines elements of high and popular culture. Joke vi target analysis of seven episodes will reveal the way patriarchy is packaged and negotiated for prime time television. The second case study focuses on the perception of the joke target and the way oppositional conflicts are negotiated in The Simpsons. This case study draws on recent research in humor theory and postmodern comedy and peers inside the text of postmodern comedy to see how the subculture humor of The Simpsons is "renegotiated" into a cultural norm. Joke target analysis ofeight episodes of this hit sitcom also confirms this shift by revealing that the textual construction of The Simpsons relies on a constant conflict between the principal joke target [Homer] and a variety of ideological targets that subvert, and also reinforce some of our traditional notions of gender and family relations in a patriarchal society. 1 Chapter 1 Survey of the Literature The field ofhumor research is interdisciplinary: dUring the course of this discussion, we will examine psychoanalytic and cognitive theories of humor, the humor research of literary and/or cultural studies theorists, linguists, sociologists and others. Psychoanalytic Theory of Humor Our discussion ofthe psychoanalytical theory ofhumOf begins with Sigmund Freud's work in this area. Freudexamines a number ofjokes according to their language (linguistic) characteristics and categorizes them according to their ability to condense language. Freud refers to this ability as "condensation" or"economy" (see Freud:190S,16-20 trans. StracheY,1960) or displacement oflanguage ("diversion of train ofthought"). (51) This manipulation oflanguage may beconceptual or verbal, according to Freud, and the humorous effect may be either tendentious (purposeful play or targeted) or non-tendentious (innocent or non-targeted.) (91) Jokes that are tendentious are aggressive, cynical, obscene or ridicule the subject. Jokes that are non-tendentious often involve word playorare 2 othenvise abstract, although Freud points out that tendentious jokes may utilize the same arrangement. Freud uses the following example to describe a non.. tendentious joke: "Not only did he disbelieve in ghosts; he was not even frightened of them" (92). Frequently categorized as a release theory, Freud's theory of humor may be thought ofas a response to a momentary freeing froItt societal constraints, or a force that sparks a vicarious reaction to the spectacle of the unconventional. Berger summarizes Freud's psychoanalytic theory of humor as a theory that "argues that humor is tied to psychic economies and to aggression, often ofa sexual nature, and usually masked" (106). Berger also notes that Freud's research on humor, "focuses our attention, directly, on the role the psyche and unconsdous play in humor and in the social dimensions of humor" (128}. Raskin suggests that Freud's theory of humor is usually referred to as a release theory, but that Freud's theory "goes well beyond a straightfonvard release theory." Raskin also notes that Freud "maintained that release or relief and the pleasure deriving from them characterized all humor... and classified humor in terms of the kinds of relief which are associated with a certain kind of humor...." According to Raskin, the laughter in Freud's Release Theory "provides relief for mental, nervous, and/or psychic energy 3 and thus ensures homeostasis after a struggle, tension, strain, etc. " (38). John Morreall concurs that the releasethe()ry in Jokes and Their Relationship to the Unconscious is an aggressive response to feelings of repression. To Freud, the relationship between the humorous response to joking and the unconscious was similar. In the following passage, Freud relates the function ofjoking and laughter to a release mechanism, a safety valve for repressed hostile or sexual feelings and thoughts, and also to the purpose ofdreaming. Joking (like dreaming) serves as a safety valve for forbidden feelings or thoughts, and when we express what is usually inhibited the energy ofrepression is released in laughter. In the comic, the energy saved is energy of thought: we are spared some cognitive processing that we have summoned the energy to perform.... (111) Freud's explanation of the response to a humorous jest clearly incorporates elements of the superiority theory as well as indicating that the release the respondent experiences is predicated on the release of repressed emotions. Interestingly, Raskin and Morreall's contention that the perimeters of the release theory are inadequate to Freud's theory of humor was directly addressed by Freud in an essay on humor written twenty years after the publication ofJokes and Their Relationship to the Unconscious. In this essay, Freud 4 suggests that humor is "not resigned; it is rebellious" (113). Freud also insists that the release theory contains elements of the superiority theory, and speculates that self-deprecating humor may function as a defense mechanism to "ward off possible suffering" (114). Clearly, according to Freud, the release theory of humor is meant to be seen as a theory that is neither static, or limited, but is intended to serve as a release from contemporary mores. This release can be playful, or, as in the case of tendentious jokes, serve as a safety valve for repressed feelings. Superiority Theory: Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes's work illuminates this approach to humor theory. Hobbes, an English philosopher and rational materialist, espouses a theory of humor that considers the uneven and unequal power relationships between groups. Morreall suggests that in Hobbes's theory of humor "human beings struggle with one another for power and what power can bring. In this struggle the failure of our competitors is equivalent to our success" (19). Clearly, Hobbes's theory is pessimistic of human nature, certainly reflective of his political theories, and seems to place a lesser value on humor and the role it plays in society. Raskin, however, notes, that a belief in the superiority theory of humor does not necessarily preclude that 5 "humor is necessarily a hostile phenomenon: the civilizing and restraining influence ofculture over the centuries has been recognized as a significant factor" (37). Critical to understanding Hobbes's theory is understanding his notion of "sudden glory." To Hobbes, "sudden glory" is "the PaSsion that makes those grimaces called laughter; and is caused by either some sudden act oftheir own, that pleases them; or by the apprehension of some deformed thing in another..."( Morreall, 19). Thus, to Hobbes "sudden glory" is a visceral response, and perhaps reflective of the brutish, less compassionate acts conducted by human beings. Hobbes also suggests that such laughter is "vain glory" and an undesirable trait. (Morreall, 20) Henri Bergson Far from being a theory that can be easily pigeon-holed, Bergson's theory contains elements of the release, superiority and incongruity theories.

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